If Only You Knew
by floodmaster16
Summary: She never thought much about it. After all, she had so much to achieve, so much to learn... but sometimes she can't help but feel lonely. Maybe shifting a small amount of her attention to it... yes, maybe that could do it...
1. Prologue

**Hello, people. I'm, kindda, sortta new to this fandom, but I have some experience in this site, so... I came up with idea a week ago, it's going to be a full story, not a one-shot, so reviews will help. Anyways, I'm rambli around so let's just get to it:**

Torrington Academy, located in Sherbrook, Quebec, was unusually peaceful. Anyone would have thought that there was something wrong, maybe an alien or monster attack, but the truth was far simpler: it was Christmas. Or it was a couple of days until Christmas, to be precise. While everyone was away enjoying their holidays with family, a certain blonde teen and his step-sister were stranded inside the academy, cursing their luck that they had, once again, been forced to spend Christmas away from their parents.

"I'm dying of BOREDOM!" the blond boy nearly yelled, the sound echoing in the empty cafeteria. He slammed his face on the table, yelping quietly at the slight pain he felt when he struck the hard surface. A soft giggle came from across the table, momentarily breaking the peace.

"Yeah, laugh all you want Di, but it doesn't change the fact that we are stuck in the worst place possible, and in Christmas, just to make it worse!"

A long sigh answered him, and this time Diana Lombard had to admit her annoying step-brother was actually right. Their time at Torrington was an ordeal that she never expected to be suffering, much less when she was forced to go through it with someone she really wasn't very fond off.

"I never thought I would say this, but you are right, Martin. I used to love the idea of spending a holiday at Torrington, but now that I'm here…" she trailed off, sinking her head in her hands. They could listen the happy humming coming from Java as he prepared the day's lunch. They both mulled over the unnecessary effort he put into it, since they were practically the only living souls around, and none of them ate too much.

"At least Java is enjoying all this, even if I do not share his enthusiasm"

"Yeah, I guess so. But you know what ticks me off even more? That M.O.M. didn't even invited us to spend Christmas at The Center. After all, last year wasn't so bad." Martin said, minimizing the near-catastrophic event that happened almost one year ago.

"Not so bad?! Your carelessness nearly turned us into freaks, Martin! I think that qualifies as 'bad'! No wonder M.O.M. decided to keep us away, she doesn't want to be forced to sing every time she tries to say anything." Diana snapped, slightly irritated.

"Come on! I saved us, and I even promised I wouldn't do any last-minute Christmas shopping! What else do I have to do to get some credibility around here?" Martin huffed, annoyed by the fact that his sister couldn't just forget what had happened last Christmas.

"You could start by not destroying my office every time you step on it, agent Mystery". Both brothers and the caveman turned to see a very familiar person standing in the entrance to the cafeteria.

"M.O.M.!" they all exclaimed excitedly. She hadn't forgotten about them, after all.

"You didn't really think I was going to leave you here on your own, did you, agents?" the head of The Center smirked, her arms crossed in front of her.

"Well, considering what happened last year…" Diana started, full-intent on annoying Martin. The blond teen simply fumed and glared harshly at her. M.O.M. shook her head sideways, smiling at the childish display in front of her. _Exactly how did they become our top agents?_

"Regardless of what happened a year ago," she interrupted, glaring at Martin herself, "I'm not a heartless person. Besides, we've taken measures to make sure that it won't happen again"

"Like?" Diana asked, heavily perplexed. M.O.M. casually showed the group a small wallet, with a decent amount of currency, and very familiar to Martin.

"Hey… that's my wallet! M.O.M.!"

"Like I said, measures, agent Mystery. Now come on, the rest of the personnel is helping put u the decorations, with a few extra hands we'll be ready for tomorrow"

"Java makes lunch, what do with it?"

"Why don't you bring it to The Center, I'm sure the agents working in the decorations are hungry, right, M.O.M.?" Martin suggested, already eager to eat whatever Java had been cooking for the past half-an-hour. His mouth was watering already at the thought of food.

"Indeed, they could use lunch, Java, and I understand that you have quite a talent for food preparation"

"Java good cook, he thinks"

"Yes, yes, yes, come on, let's go, I can't stand being here a minute more!" Diana finally snapped, the loneliness of Torrington finally getting to her. Everyone looked at her with raised eyebrows, which caused her to rub the back of her head while giving an awkward smile, "Sorry… I guess being trapped in here doesn't do me much good".

"You think?" Martin finally rebukes, crossing through the portal that M.O.M. had just opened behind her. The rest of the group followed suit, the manager being last, and then the Academy was truly deserted, with not a single soul inside.

* * *

><p>M.O.M. hadn't been kidding when she said that all agents where busy hanging up decorations. It seemed like The Center had closed up shop for the next days and dedicated itself to the sole purpose of celebrating the holidays. As the platform advanced and the three agents were cleared, a familiar mechanical humming made its way closer to them, and a little green alien on a hovering small craft made himself known, cheering at the group.<p>

"Hey guys! I see you are spending the holidays with us again, this is going to be great… Uhm, Martin, no gifts from you this time, right?" Billy asked, trying to hide some nervousness. Martin simply glared at him with a raised eyebrow and his arms crossed. _You too Billy?_

"No, I won't be giving any gifts this Christmas Billy, M.O.M. took care of that" he answered dead-pan. The green alien smiled and then held up his hand, after which both of them performed their famous "handshake". The platform gave way to an elevator, and after riding it to the top they found themselves in the spotless-clean office of the Manager.

"Alright, since all the staff is already engaged in the other parts of the place, you are going to help Billy and me with the office…"

"Ha! Piece of cake! We'll be done before sundown!" the blond agent exclaimed… right before M.O.M. opened the storage closet, burying him on a mountain of decorations, "Or maybe not..."

* * *

><p>Everyone made themselves busy, Martin and Java helping with the uncommonly big Nativity Scene (in which some characters were changed into monster-alien form), while Billy and M.O.M. hung around the wall decorations. Diana was on Christmas tree duty, in charge of decorating the huge glowing fungi-like tree. While everyone was very much in the spirit of the occasion, Billy noticed that a certain brunette was in an awfully quiet and pensive mood.<p>

"Diana?" the girl didn't reacted, deep in thought about whatever was going through her mind, "Diana!"

Diana jumped up slightly, startled by the alien's call, "Billy! Don't do that! You almost scared me to death…"

"Sorry, Diana, but you seemed a little spaced out. Are you Ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Billy, I was just thinking for a moment"

"I can see that. Are you sure you are Ok? You know you can trust me with anything, right?"

"I know, Billy, it's just…" she stopped to think about it. _Is it a good idea to talk about this with Billy? He is rather… talkative after all. But that doesn't mean he is not thrust-worthy._ She bit her lip while pondering, finally making up her mind, "Look, can we talk somewhere a bit more… private?"

* * *

><p>'Somewhere a bit more private' turned out to be the detention block's guard post. The girl and the small alien were alone and thus Diana felt more confident about talking freely.<p>

"So, what was it you were thinking about, Diana?" the usual ear-to-ear smile in Billy's face was almost not there, proving how worried he was about her.

"Well… see, you know that I'm a 16 year-old girl, a teenager by definition. It's the age when girls like me like to go out with their friends and… well… explore the world, and themselves, so to speak. But I never really cared about this myself, with so much schoolwork and things to do…"

"Yes, I suppose you are kind of an over-achiever…"

That particular comment earned him a harsh glare. Billy simply gave a nervous laugh and decided to not say anything else.

"I guess you are kindda right. I've struggled for academic near-perfection so much that I've… neglected other aspects of life. I don't usually think much of it, with school and what-not, but it's always on holidays that I wished… you now…"

While Billy was sure that she was talking about something important, he really couldn't make the connection about what she was talking about. It was one of the aspects of human behavior which he hadn't grasped quite well yet, and it made him want to ask details about it. Diana could sense this in his clueless facial expression, just staring at her, begging for an answer.

"Be with someone Billy. Someone… who cares"

_Oh! It's about _that_._

"So why don't you try, Di? You know, like Martin, he's always on the try, even if he's not as smooth as he wished he was…" the girl giggled softly, agreeing with him, "It shouldn't be too hard for a pretty girl like you."

Diana just couldn't avoid blushing at that particular comment. Nobody had come close to call her 'pretty', and thus, she was slightly surprised to hear it.

"You really think so, Billy?"

"Of course I do, Diana. A boy would have to be stupid to not like you. Or a primal simian. A lot of those going around at your age, you know?"

"Yeah, tell me about it, he'd probably be the king of the primal simians, what with his clumsiness and stupidity…" it took Diana full three seconds to realize that she had given up _way_ too much information, "Uh, I mean…"

"You already like someone, don't you Diana?" Billy teased, a smirk in his face while he chuckled. Diana went from blush to bright red, with a nervous smile and rubbing the back of her head.

"Don't be silly, Billy, I, uh… I haven't had time to… be on the lookout for boys… hehe"

"Ri-ight… so you don't mind if I introduce you to some of our other top agents? You know, the full-time guys, who go after the mean and bad-ass aliens with plasma blasters and heavy armor… at least most of the time. The rest of the time they hang around the water-cooler in battle uniform and war paint."

"Now you are just trying to be funny, Billy"

"About the water-cooler part? Yeah, but I mean the bad-ass aliens part. Besides, they are usually single and very smart. You know, your kind of guy."

"Alright, Billy, I get it. You win, introduce me to one of your great, bad-ass alien catching agents."

"Well, since you don't want to tell me who the guy you like is, we have a deal. Now let's go before M.O.M. realizes that we are fooling around the detention block. If a creature escapes she'll turn us into monster food"

Both of them returned to the Manager's office, oblivious to the blond eavesdropper that had overheard every single word they said.

"Diana dating a full-time Center agent? Now _that's_ something I want to see" he simply muttered to himself, snickering at the thought of her sister trying to date a guy who lived to fight the supernatural, rather than being an apathic skeptical like her. And yet, he would also admit that he was slightly worried about it After all, he really did care about her. Martin resolved to keep an eye on her, and the lucky guy that got to be chosen by her.

_Lucky? Why did I think that?_

* * *

><p><strong>So... there's that. I would love to commit myself to updating this story every weekend, but that's something that I'm not sure I can do, so I'll just update whenever possible. Remember to review, please, and see you next update.<br>**


	2. Falcon

**Sorry, I know I didn't commit myself to updating this on time, but I at least owe you guys an update whenever I can, so here we go.**

"Sparrow 1 to Center Control, come in, over"

"Center Control to Sparrow 1. What are you doing outside? The party is tonight!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know, Control, tell that to the bad-asses we are hauling around. Hopefully they'll get in the celebrations' mood and chill a little bit, over"

"Understood, Sparrow 1, pad 4 is clear for your landing. See you at the party"

"Roger, Control. Sparrow 1 out"

* * *

><p>The Center's tilt-rotor aircraft, one of the many vehicles at the disposal of Center agents, nimbly landed on its assigned pad. The pilots ran through the landing check, `powering down the engines and making sure everything was A-straight. After all, <em>nobody<em> wanted to deal with the lady-boss when gear was involved. She had the tendency to be extremely strict in that matter, often giving hard sanctions against people that dared to even scratch or dent the equipment.

Except, obviously, to Martin Mystery and his team. Everyone knew or had heard about them. They were somewhat of a legend among the staff, almost at the same level of Falcon Team. Which reminded…

"Ok, guys, we are home. Remember to leave the barf bags were you found them. I don't want to have to explain why they are always going missing even though none of you guys are supposed to be regular barfers" one of the pilots yelled towards the people they were transporting, unfastening his crash helmet and loosening the security straps.

"Come on, don't we get to take a souvenir from the airline?" a voice teased, while standing up and picking up the bags they had brought along for their mission.

"If you want a damned souvenir cut a finger off of that stinking creature you just caught, don't mess with my bird!" the second pilot retorted, with a heavy southern drawl.

"Calm down, Clint Eastwood, we are out of here. You yahoos going to the Christmas party tonight?" the second male Center Operative called, stopping by the exit hatch on the side of the aircraft.

"Maybe. It's one of the few times we get to see the ice-queen without a frown on her face. And she's quite a sight to behold when she dances" the southern pilot conceded.

"What he means is that he wants to take a shot at M.O.M., even if we all know that will go nowhere. Rumor has it, she's got her sights on someone from the office. A high-ranking minion. It's odd, but maybe if it happens, the guy can soften her up"

"Don't count on that, flyboys. See you around fellas" the second agent left the aircraft, followed by a third male agent, who didn't speak a word to the pilots and simply gave a small wave gesture. _Weird guy…_

"See you later, guys. Hope you go to the party, I need dancing partners, you know?" the fourth agent told them, a stunning red-headed woman in her early twenties and a wide smile on her face.

"Well, if you put it that way. Maybe we now do have a good reason to go"

"Great! See you around guys!"

* * *

><p>"Billy, were are we going?" the brunette asked for the fourth time. The little alien had convinced her to meet one of the agents he had been talking about, but he hadn't said where they would be meeting the guy, and Diana had to admit that she had never been in this parts of The Center. While they were far from being creepy (detention block still claiming that tittle) the unfamiliar spaces did make her somewhat nervous, especially since they were deserted.<p>

"I told you I'd be introducing some agents, didn't I?" Billy said, stopping at a blast-door labeled 'Landing Pads'.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me we were coming down here, did you? It's a bit creepy here" Diana answered, slightly cowed away by the loneliness of the place.

"Don't worry, Di. The place looks lonely now because almost everyone is already at M.O.M.'s office chilling and getting ready for the party. There's still a skeleton crew here to receive our last aircraft for the next days"

"Last aircraft? I thought everyone was already here"

"Not everyone. Our best team, Falcon, has just returned from their last mission of the year. They had to take care of a rebellious group of Gaelians. Their assignment was to…ahh… neutralize the group and capture the leader." Billy seemed somewhat uneasy when talking about 'neutralization', and Diana understood.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? The kind of people that do… 'neutralization' for an organization like the Center are probably not my kind of guy, Billy" The alien's uneasiness was contagious, and she was no longer sure she wanted to go through with this.

"Don't worry, Diana, I wouldn't get you in a date with just about anyone, would I?"

"Date?! I thought you said just _meet!_"

"You say tomato, I say date" The brunette sent him a harsh glare, which the alien didn't see, and the blast door slowly opened.

"Billy! How you doing, little green man?" a black-skinned man, in his late 20s or early 30s probably, called while exiting through the door.

"Hi, Max. How was the mission?" the alien greeted, executing another 'handshake' with the newcomer, this one very different from the one he did with Diana's brother. This little detail didn't escape her attention. _So they are old friends_.

"Well, you know, nothing out of the ordinary. We went in, we looked around, and we fried some bugs. Gotta say, as peaceful as Gaelians usually are, they sure know how to fight. Believe that, buddy"

"I know, they used to be part of The Center's special teams, until they decided to go pacifist. Some of them still have it in them, I guess. But you guys are the best for these jobs, aren't you?"

"Bet on it, Billy!" an incredibly gorgeous redhead woman added, leaning in to kiss Billy's diminutive cheek. The alien's usually green face turned a shade of red. _Why wouldn't he? The girl is stunning!_ Diana felt really small when she compared herself to her. She probably wasn't older than her middle-twenties, and she would keep Martin drooling after her if he ever met her. "Looking handsome, little guy! And who do we have here? A girlfriend?" she teased, finally noticing Diana standing by his side. The girl rubbed the back of her head and blushed slightly at the awkwardness of the commentary, but decided to let Billy introduce her.

"What? Oh, no, no! This here is Diana Lombard, she is part of the Mystery team. She is also Martin's step-sister" Billy declared, signaling in her direction.

"Hello! It's a pleasure to meet you guys"

"Pleasure is ours. I'm Max, Falcon Team's leader. The girl here is Anne, and the silent guy on my back is Valentin" Diana felt like a bad person for not noticing the young man behind Mas and Anne. He was probably the youngest of the team, looking no older than eighteen years old, probably younger. He had blond hair, but a few shades lighter than Martin's and sporting a buzz-cut hairstyle. His blue eyes reflected iciness, but also insecurity. He didn't say anything, but acknowledged her with a semi-friendly gesture and a slight side-ways move of his lips. All in all, he wasn't an unpleasant person, but not someone whom you'd have an extended conversation with.

"Wait, so you are _the_ Martin Mystery's step-sis?" Anne asked, to which Diana just innocently nodded. _Oh god, another crazy fan…_ "Cool, we've been keeping an eye on you guys. I shouldn't say this, but it's obvious to anyone with two neurons that you guys are slated to take our place when we are too old to keep jumping around"

"Really?" Diana hadn't thought much about remaining as a Center agent after high school. The revelation that M.O.M. had plans for their team in the near future made her question if she really wanted out. _If I get to wear one of those black uniforms they are wearing…_

"Sure. But alas, we are running late for the party, aren't we, Max?"

"Oh, yes! Sorry Billy, guess I'll see you around at the ice-queen's party" at this, the three of them began heading towards where Diana and Billy had come from.

"Yeah, sure… Wait a second! Have you seen Archer? We are looking for him" Billy called out, almost forgetting what they had come for.

"Probably at the Armory, Bill, you know him, he's a tidiness freak!" was the last thing they heard before the group disappeared.

"Come on, Di, your date is awaiting!"

"BILLY!"

* * *

><p>Agent Archer was sitting in a stool by the Armory table, checking over his personal armor and weaponry. The plasma blaster had seen some action, but the personal armor… M.O.M. would have chewed his head if she had seen the state of the armor. Fortunately Christmas had saved his ass, as it had for the last two years. A knock at the metallic hatch-like door attracted his attention just as it began to unlock itself and it opened.<p>

"Hey, Billy!" he greeted without taking his eyes off the armored vest. _It's gonna need a lot of work… damn it. _

"Arch, we were looking for you. The party is set to begin soon!"

"I know, Billy. I just have to fix this thing, or M.O.M. will have my head on a platter for Christmas dinner" _Wait a sec… we?_ He finally processed the meaning of that when a very faint smell of perfume hit him. _That's weird…_ He found himself slightly transfixed with the brunette girl that had arrived with the small alien that he considered a friend.

"Hey! Archer!" the agent shook his head slightly, which made Diana giggle softly to herself. _Well, he's certainly cute…_

"Sorr-y Billy, I…uhm… spaced out a bit" came a stuttered response.

"Yeah, it figures… anyway, I wanted to introduce you to somebody. Diana, this is Archer. Archer, Diana"

"Hello, pleased to meet you"

"Pleasure is mine. We've heard all kinds of positive things about team Mystery, I'm sure The Center will be in good hands" he complimented, missing the slight blush that had lighted the girl's face. Billy could only snicker, and decided to make himself scarce.

"Diana wanted to learn about the special teams and I thought you could show her round. Maybe that'll help to make her mind up about staying for a career at The Center. I'll leave you two to it, see you at the party!" the small alien didn't waste any time bugging out, leaving the two of them in a short but awkward silence.

"So... " she timidly said, to try and break the ice.

"So…" he repeated, taking the cue

Both of them laughed at the silliness of it all, and it was smooth-sailing from there.

* * *

><p>"Where Diana?" Java asked. He hadn't seen the brunette in a while, and that wasn't proper of her. She usually hung around with them, or with Billy and M.O.M. if she wanted a change. But the Manager hadn't seen her either and Billy was pretty evasive about the issue.<p>

"Uh, she had something important to do, Jav. I'm sure she'll join us soon enough" Martin said, trying hard to flirt with some of the female staff members. While he was doing his best, and some of them actually looked interested in him. But he had a hard time keeping up with it, still thinking about the early… slip of thought he had had. While he could hardly call it something serious, or even something that he should be really worried about, it raised some red-flags inside his brain. Diana and he had been stepbrothers for almost eight years, and he acknowledged that this was a VERY long time. They knew each other pretty well, their likes and dislikes, their reactions to different situations… and also their more personal stuff, like aspirations and dreams, as corny as all that sounded. Despite them constantly teasing and bugging each other to death, both of them would gladly admit that they cared deeply for each other. The fact that _maybe_ that caring for each other had evolved in some way was both frightening and foreign to him. In the end, he decided to take a break from flirting and sat to think by himself. The first thought was a pretty obvious one: _IF it's true… it would be wrong… wouldn't it? _ He pondered on this just as his little green friend snuck up on him.

"Hi, Martin!" the alien called, startling the blond and sending him down from his seat. He quickly got up and gave Billy a nasty look.

"Hello Billy, thanks for sneaking up on me…" he grumbled, and grudgingly sat back on his seat.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that. I just thought I would come and check up on you, you look extremely spaced out"

"I'm fine, Billy, I'm just… thinking"

"About your next conquest? Way to go!"

_Am I that predictable?_ "Not exactly, but it _is_ about a girl" the Agent admitted.

"Great, so who's the lucky one? You need me to be your wingman again?" Billy was truly excited about that prospect, even if he knew that Martin's plan would crash and burn in a spectacular manner. The two Center agents were very good friends, and they hadn't really been hanging out lately, so Billy was taking every chance he had to spend time with his friend.

"I'd rather not say, Billy. I… am not so sure about it at the moment"

* * *

><p>"Ok, know, grip it strongly but not stiffly. When you are ready pull the trigger"<p>

A burst of high-yield plasma hit the metallic silhouette a few seconds later. The firing startled Diana a bit, and she stumbled back, getting caught before she fell to the floor by Archer.

"Don't worry, all novices get started the first time. You'll be doing better every time you do it" he said, helping her regain her balance. Diana felt slightly guilty that she was faking the loss of balance. She was testing the guy, and so far, he was acing all the tests she had put him through. He was really a strong candidate for a relationship.

"You really think so? I feel like I'm a lousy shooter. If I have to do this for The Center, I think I'm going to get another bad evaluation" That specific episode was still fresh on her mind, even if M.O.M. and the team had already forgiven her betrayal.

"Don't sweat it, I mean it. The first time I came into the Firing Range I almost destroyed the place. But as they say, practice makes perfect, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you are right. Thank you, for showing me this stuff. I never realized The Center had these kind of things, I always thought all other teams worked like us, you know… non-lethal"

_Ah, so that's what's got her concerned._

"Yeah, I didn't believed it myself when they brought me in here. But overtime, I learned that there are some extra-dangerous creatures out there that really needed to be put down. It sounds awful, I know, but… it's for everyone's safety"

Diana understood, but she was still on the fence about it.

"Can I ask you one last question?"

"Sure, fire away… not literally…"

"How did you arrived in here? I mean… do your family mind that you are here? Do they ever ask you what you do for a living?"

Archer waited some seconds to answer, the mood suddenly a bit heavier. The brunette was about to back out from the question and apologize when he decided it was ok to answer.

"I don't think they would mind… I'm… an orphan. I don't really remember how I got here, but as far as I can remember I've been prowling and playing around The Center's hallways since I was a kid. I was agent by the time I turned fourteen, and I was selected for the special teams just last year"

"I'm…I'm so sorry… I didn't know…"Diana was extremely shocked by the news, and she could somehow relate to him after losing her father herself. But Scoot Lombard wasn't dead, he was just too busy for his wife and daughter, travelling for business all around the world. It was nowhere near the same.

"It's Ok. I never met my parents, so I don't really have something to grieve, and The Center… well, it's all I know, so I think I'm fine"

"Still, wouldn't you like to go out into the normal world? I mean, aren't you curious about the world outside your job?" It was a rather fitting question. One that could give her a good reason to be around him.

"Sometimes, yeah. But I really have no incentive to" Archer admitted.

"Well, maybe we could go to the outside when you are not busy. What do you think?"

"That would be great, yeah" a silence followed, but not an awkward one, rather an understanding silence, while they took in on each other's company. Until a wristwatch's alarm interrupted the moment.

"Huh, is getting late. The party will start shortly. Will I see you there?" he asked, a slight tone of hopefulness in his voice. The girl found it endearing, and of course she would be there.

"Sure, I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world. Don't be late, I need a dancing partner" Now, this was _nothing _like her. _Screw it, he is gold mine._

They separated, Diana ready to return to M.O.M.'s office and Archer heading for his quarters to change out from the form-fitting black under-armor uniform. The vibe he had gotten out of the girl was one that he had never felt with any other person he had met in his relatively-short life, and he wasn't dumb enough to let go of the opportunity.

* * *

><p><strong>Not sure how you feel about this chapter, I like it, but if you feel like I'm playing dumb feel free to tell me so at the 'Reviews' section. I intend this story to be sort of slowly paced, so paranormal stuff will rarely be touched, but it will still be here and there.<strong>

**I woud like to use this very same place to invite those of you unsure about writting in this category to write your own stories. I've already said this once, but I won't get tired of saying it. The only bad ideas are the ones you don't share. If you have something, no matter how dumb or stupid you think it is, you can write about it. What you might think it's dumb we might consider it a wonderful idea. We are nice people here, and we would love to see this category remain alive, and we can only do that with your help.**

**So, public announcement is over, see you guys next update. Have a good one.**


	3. James Archer

**Three, two, one... showtime:**

M. O. M.'s office was… different to say the least. The normally Spartan-looking place was now colorful and lively, not unlike the time where Diana and Martin had arrived to be briefed about the strange moon phenomenon that caused monsters from movies and comics to become real. It surprised Diana only slightly, but it was a welcomed surprise.

"Hey, Diana!" Billy cheered, using his human shell, "How did your date go?"

"Billy! It… wasn't a date…" she answered, smiling nervously.

"Right, right, right… Okay, how did the 'meeting' go?" he said, still teasing the teenage girl, who was blushing so badly that her face had gone a nasty shade of red.

"It was…ok, I guess"

"Come on, Diana, it must have been great if you are all smiles now."

"Alright, alright! Jeez, Billy, nothing happened, he just showed me around and stuff"

"Well, that's too bad. Did you invited him to come along with you for the party? He could use someone to take him out more often, you know?"

"Yes, we sort of talked about that. Do you think M. O. M. would allow him to come out of The Center when he's not away on an assignment? After all, I think you are right, he does need to get out more often" Diana asked the alien.

Billy pondered about this for a moment, until he was able to give a truthful answer to his friend: "I think I can talk to her about that. I mean, surely you know the… circumstances of his employment here, right?"

"You mean the thing about him being an orphan? Yes, he mentioned it. Billy, how is it possible? How did an orphan winded up being raised by The Center?" it was a very fair question, and one that Billy could answer, but he was doubtful about it himself. And he didn't want everybody else to overhear what he was about to say. After all, not everyone knew the history of James Archer's upbringing in the Center.

"Ok, I will tell you, but we need to talk about this in a more secluded part. Come on"

* * *

><p>"Well, well, well, look who decided to finally get out from the Armory" Max said, teasing his younger team-partner, who was looking himself at the mirror in his quarters while he tried to smoothen the formal jacket he had decided to wear. It had been given to him as a Christmas gift last year, by none other than M. O. M. herself. He never understood why the head of The Center usually gave him better gifts than the rest of the employees (in a discreet manner, of course), but he never questioned her motives, and as such he never pronounced word against it. Unfortunately, the gifts rarely got any use at all, since he hadn't ever gotten out from his quarters to use them, but it now seemed that all that was about to change.<p>

"What? I'm just tidying myself up for the party. No big deal!" Archer said, still trying to figure out how to wear clothing that was not The Center's combat uniform, "Dammit! Why is this so hard?" he exclaimed, giving up on the jacket. He really had no idea of what he was doing, and it showed. Max just chuckled to himself and stepped into Archer's room, helping him with his clothes.

"You are wearing it the other way around, fella" he said, taking his jacket off and turning it inside-out, only to give it back so the kid could wear it back, "See? That's better, isn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose. Thanks, boss" Archer answered with a sheepish smile.

"Don't mention it, Arch. Now, about all this… can I ask you, why the sudden change?"

"Uhm… I don't think I get it…"

"Don't think I'm stupid, kid. Billy shows up with a pretty girl, looking for you, then suddenly you are going to parties and dressing sharply?" Max commented, referring specifically to his actual outfit: a set of silvery-looking trousers, a black turtle-neck, long-sleeved shirt, and the black formal jacket he had somehow gotten. It was something he had never seen him wear, and attending to the (few) Center's festivities was completely out-of-character for him, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not against any of this kid, but I want you to be careful, alright? Girls are great distractors, and distractions get people killed in the field, you hear me?"

"Yeah. I hear you, boss. I'll be careful"

"Good, now let's go, you have a date waiting for you"

* * *

><p><em>What I am about to tell you happened a long time ago, but it seems like it was just yesterday. James Archer was the son of two Center agents, our top agents at the time. His mother was M. O. M.'s best friend back in the day, before she became the manager and was just an agent like you. <em>

_Needless to say, the mother was rethinking about her long-term employment in The Center due to her new status as a mother. The director at the time, a man named Hartman, assigned the parents a last mission before they retired, but they never came back. We searched for them for weeks, but never found a trace of their whereabouts. The Center took a pretty good hit when they disappeared, but M. O. M. took it even worse. Hartman understood it, and allowed her some time off to deal with her loss. What none of us had thought about was what would happen in that time span. _

_When M. O. M. returned, she was now the legal responsible for James, effectively becoming into a de facto mother. Hartman was furious, and threatened to fire her for not consulting about her decision. In the end, M. O. M. won, and Hartman was discharged. She was tasked with occupying his former position as manager, but in the end she had to deal with the fact that her responsibilities where too much for her to do her job in a proper manner. After James' thirteenth birthday she took a final decision: she asked me and Dr. Julius Strong to erase her kids' memory. Records of his birth and her relationship to him where altered or flat-out erased, and the people who knew about it accepted promotions in the farthest Center outposts they could find or early retirements. It was the only way to keep him close without causing a scandal in The Center. Imagine that, M. O. M.'s kid being promoted to field agent, and Special Response Teams after. No one would have tolerated that, and M. O. M. wouldn't have tolerated being responsible for that kind of division among the agency. So, she has followed his career ever since those first days, treating him like she would to any other agent. But that doesn't take away the fact that he's, essentially, the son of The Center's manager. That's why he's here today, Diana, and it's important that you do _not_ tell him any of this._

* * *

><p>Diana was in a state of-near-shock. She desperately wanted to believe that Billy was playing around with her, that he had just invented the story he just told her to mess with her. But the rather guilty-looking person in front of her told the story by itself: it was no joke.<p>

"Billy… what you did… it was… wrong. You… you stripped that kid from the love he deserved. How could M. O. M. tell you to do that? Doesn't she feel responsible for that? Does she even care?"

"I don't know what to say, Diana. You have to walk in somebody's shoes to understand the reasons behind their decisions…"

"Sorry, Billy, but these are some shoes I would rather not even try on. Whether M. O. M. approves or not, I'll make sure he knows that there's a world beyond the one she created for him" Diana was furious, but she kept it to herself. It wasn't Billy whom she was furious at.

"I'm sorry Diana, I know that what I did was wrong…"

"Yes, it was, Billy, but I don't blame you. I blame M. O. M. You are just another piece in her chess board. I won't let the game keep going on, at least not with her own rules"

* * *

><p>"So this is a party, uh?" Archer had to ask, his mind overloaded by the constant visual and auditory stimuli.<p>

"Well… yeah. You've never been to a party before, Arch?" Anne asked, giving him a strange look.

"Err… no?"

"My, my, you've missed on some good stuff. Seems like we have to get you started, right now!"

"Actually, I am supposed to meet… someone in here…"

"Whoa! You got a date?! You are growing too fast!" Anne joked, which caused Archer to gruff in annoyance, "go ahead, go look for your date, we'll see you later, kid"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Archer dismissed, as he began looking around for Diana.

* * *

><p>She was furious at what she had just found out, but at the same time she felt sorry for Billy. And Archer. <em>Speaking of him, where is he? He said he would be here by n… <em>She was stopped on her tracks by bumping into someone, and she recognized who it was before he had time to apologize.

"Here you are!" she said, her previous frown now turned into a sincere smile. She had suddenly forgotten the unpleasant conversation with Billy, "And you are looking good, if I may say so"

"Uh… thanks. This… is not how usually dress. I must admit that it was a bit hard to piece it together. So… what does people do in these… 'parties'?" Archer asked, making it apparent that he was completely out of his element.

"You have never been to a party?"

"That's the second time they've asked me that same question tonight"

"And?"

"No, I've never been to a party"

"Well… we could… dance, how about that?" she said, pulling him lightly by his arm.

"Uh… Ok, but I don't know how to dance" he admitted, slightly ashamed and with a nervous grin on his face. _I can't believe how out of touch with reality I am._

"Don't worry, I can teach you some things" she said, finally being able to drag the smart-dressed guy into the dance floor.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Martin watched from afar while his sister (correction, his <em>step<em>-sister) was _flirting_ with a guy he didn't even know. _ What if he is some kind of pervert or the like? What if he only wants to take advantage of her?_ These questions roamed wildly in his mind while he drank the light beverage in his glass. But there was _one_ question that he hadn't given a thought about: Why did it matter to him that much? What did this all meant?

He wasn't asking those questions because he was sure he already knew the answers, and he didn't liked them at all, so he instead pushed them out of his head and focused on his present worries. _I'm gonna keep a good eye on that guy._

* * *

><p>"Ouch" Diana yelped softly. <em>Jesus, he even makes polite mistakes, what is it with this guy? That's gonna hurt in the morning, tough…<em>

"Sorry! Dammit, I'm so bad at this…" he said with a small laugh. It was contagious, and she found herself laughing despite the clumsy way they were dancing. It was a ridiculous moment, sure to be reminded to her in the future by her brother (_Where is he, by the way?_) in a way to mock her, but she really didn't mind it at all.

"It's ok, you are doing it pretty good for your first time. Are you sure you've never been to a party before?"

"One-hundred-and-ten percent. I even rarely come out of my quarters" he said, trying to have a conversation and keeping up to the lively music's rhythm.

"That's not good, you now? But anyways, I'm already taking care of that"

"R-really? Won't it interfere with my job?"

"Don't worry, you won't be having any work for the next month apparently. Bad guys celebrate holidays too. Besides, I overheard some stuff about team rotations. I don't know how that works but I assume you and your friends are going to get R & R"

"Yeah, basically, it means the B team is now on standby for action. So I guess you are right, I'll be free for the next month or so. Though I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to survive. Out there, in the real world"

Suddenly, the frantic music stopped, and a calmer tune began to play and the lights dimmed slightly

"W-what's going on?" he said, looking around, and missing Diana's blush as she realized it was Billy who had done it. _So, despite the fact that I almost chewed his head off, he's now my teammate on this…_ There was something comforting about a friend willing to help despite the circumstances.

"Err, this is kind of embarrassing. It's called slow-dancing. If you feel awkward about it…" she said, with her hands behind her back. After catching a side-ways glance, he finally understood what she meant.

"Oh. Err… and what about you? Do you… want to?" he asked with a blank expression. It was a sight that very nearly made her heart melt, and the fact that _he_ was asking _her_ to slow-dance…

"I would love to…"

And strangely enough, there was no need to teach him anything. It seemed like this level of intimacy between two people who barely knew each other was not wrong, but rather, that it was something… natural. And it didn't bother her. Maybe it should have, maybe… maybe she should have had a problem with it, maybe she should have declined. But she didn't want to, and for the first time in her life she was going to listen to herself and do what she thought was right, society and rules be damned. And him? He didn't know what to think. He was versed in combat with directed-energy weaponry, projectile weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, asymmetric paranormal warfare and a great number of other skills, all necessary for his survival while in the line of duty. But this? He was out of his element, a babe in the woods if you may. And he wasn't afraid of it. He wasn't afraid of not knowing the girl whom he was now holding in his arms that well, and he was certainly not afraid of the idea of going out into a world he didn't know anything about.

It was okay. It wasn't perfect, but it really felt close to it.

* * *

><p><strong>I think I have a flair for the dramatic, but I also think I overdid this one, SPECIALLY the ending. Anyways, if you think so (or not), then please leave your input in the 'Reviews' section (remember that our stories grow better with your feedback, people) and I'm still waiting for those fabulous new stories in this category. Come on, don't be shy, there's a lot of good you can do in here.<br>**

**So, that woud be it for now, as you remember I already stablished a new update rate, so the next update will take a while to come around, but in the meantime I encourage you to read my other works and leave more input on those too. Remember that 'love you give is love you get'... or something like that...**


	4. Maturity

The slow song finished to soon for the liking of both, and the lively tunes soon resumed. After the previous moment, though, getting back to that felt incredibly awkward, and thus they decided to take a break and walk off toward their friends.

"Just for a while, don't keep me waiting, ok?" Diana beamed, her mood now livelier than ever before.

"I won't, don't worry" Archer answered, as they parted away at the moment.

"How Diana date going?" Java said, lightly teasing the teenage agent, who responded by narrowing her eyes in mock anger.

"It's not a date, Java! We are just... 'hanging out', as people say" the blush on her face betrayed her, but the lighting in the room helped her conceal it.

"Yeah, right, sis. You and that guy have been very tight up until now" Martin chimed in, trying to not let his annoyance creep into his voice.

"So what, Martin? I can't spend time with a mature, serious person? You are gonna go around making sure I only hand out with people you like?" while she was not completely serious, she did mean that to a certain extent. Martin and Billy, as good friends as they were, were very immature people. Not that she minded too much, but at times she really just wanted to be with people that thought just a little bit like her.

"Oh, no, don't mind me, queen of maturity. It's ok if you want to hang out with your new boyfriend. Go ahead, we don't mind at all" the sass and sarcasm in the sentence threw Diana off-guard, and made her blood begin to boil.

"What is your problem? Why do you care? You are always giving me hell about not having somebody I care even a bit about, and now that I'm actually trying you are even worse of a cry-baby for it! Who the hell understands you?!" she said, having dragged the blonde to a less-populated area of the room, only to storm away as soon as the last word was out of her mouth. Martin could only stare at her retreating form while she headed for the exit. He hadn't meant to day what he said, at least not in the way he had said it. Sure, he was always teasing her and everything, but that was because it was the only way he knew to show that, deeply in his heart, he cared about her. And perhaps that was his whole problem: he just hadn't found an appropriate way to show how important she was to her. That's why she always complained about his attitude and his pranks. She just couldn't see through his actions and understand his reasons. And he certainly wasn't helping her at all. The agent finally gave a sigh and decided to just let the issue aside for the night. Maybe he would get lucky and one of the girls in the room wouldn't swat him away.

* * *

><p>Diana fumed all the way to the exit, and a bit more too when the door had finally closed behind her. It took her a full minute to cool down, not before muttering what would appear to be gibberish to any passer-by.<p>

_Damned Martin... how dare he tell me what I can or can't do?! I'm nearly an adult, for Christ's sake! Who I relate to and how much is my business, not his..._

While she could understand her brother's -_STEPbrother_- natural instinct to protect her from danger (what else could it be?) sometimes the blonde could be very rude and annoying, specially towards her. She was about to decide to just leave it at that and return to the party when the door opened again, this time opened by a very familiar person.

"M. O. M.?" Diana wondered aloud, the thought of seeing the manager away from the center of the action being... well... alien... to her.

"Agent Lombard... I mean... Diana. I wanted to talk to you in private. Do you have a minute?" the woman asked. In all honesty, Diana did have a minute to spare, but the memory of what Billy had told her at the beginning of the party still caused her an internal conflict, and she frankly didn't know what to think about the woman that was now in front of her.

"Err... actually, there's somebody waiting for me inside, so..."

"I know, Diana. That's what I wanted to talk about, actually. I guess Bully told you the story..."

"Yes, he did. How could you do that? To someone you claim to love like a son of your own blood? You can't seriously expect me to believe tha..." she was interrupted by the manager, who simply raised her hand as a signal for her to stop. Diana did so, out of reflex, expecting her to begin making up excuses for it. Instead, M. O. M. just stood there, silent for a couple of seconds. The teenager could see the hints of internal conflict in her, but decided to wait until the manager decided to speak.

"I... I don't expect you to understand the reasons behind my decision, Diana. You are young, you haven't seen or lived through even half of what I have. I know that what I did wasn't right, but I did it for him, to keep him safe and to give him a chance at earning each and every one of the milestones in his life. Maybe it wasn't the right way. Maybe it was. But it's done, and we have to deal with it. The only thing I ask from you is that you never tell him what happened."

"So you are asking me to lie to him... why do I even try to pretend I'm surprised?..."

"I can turn that into an order, agent Lombard.."

"No need. I won't tell him. You will. Not today, nor tomorrow, but one day he'll want to know, and you will have to face the consequences of your decision." with that final word, the auburn-haired agent went back to the party, leaving M. O. M. to wonder: since when do her agents lecture her about decisions?

* * *

><p>"There's the man of the hour!" Max cheered when Archer got near the couple. Surprisingly enough, Annie wasn't in full swing at the party, instead sat with the team-leader talking about God-knows-what while sipping into their drinks. Archer sat across her and to Max's right, a small glass of... something in front of him.<p>

"How's the date going, sweetheart?" Annie teased, her lips forming a devilish smile.

"It's not a date... I'm just hanging around with a girl" Archer defended, later realizing how lame his argument had sounded.

"A girl that likes you, I might add. Come on kid, loosen up a little bit from time to time. It will do you some good."

"Even if that were true, I'm not just gonna jump at her. We barely know each other."

"So what? Ask her out! No girl in her right mind would reject a handsome guy like you!" the redhead beamed, giggling when Archer's face picked up a shade of red.

"Yeah... no. I'll take things slow. IF she likes me, then I'll find out along the way." he said, shrugging the matter off.

"Nice plan, kid. Woops, act normal, your girl is coming!"

"Not my girl!" he muttered, before facing in the direction in which the teenage girl was arriving. However, he turned his smile upside down when he saw the unpleasant frown in her face, instantly deducing something was wrong.

"Hey, are you ok? You look like someone kicked your cat..."

"What? Oh, sorry. I just... had an unpleasant argument with my brother... You mind if I sit with you and your friends?"

"Err... sure, if you think you can tolerate us then go ahead" he invited, despite being slightly worried about the eccentric attitudes of his team mates. Despite his worries, Max and Annie behaved rather calmly during the rest of the party, Annie going as far as to establishing what could be called a friendship with Diana.

* * *

><p>It all ended some hours later, with everyone leaving gradually until only Max, Annie, Archer, and Diana remained in the room, still chatting and laughing.<p>

"I think we should get going, it's kind of late." Annie said, stealing a glance at her simple wristwatch.

"I agree, although there's nobody back at Torrington to tell if I'm away..." Diana mused, obviously ignoring the fact that her annoying brother was probably skulking around the college looking out for her.

"Still, I think we all need to get some rest, right, Arch?"

"Yep. Come on, I'll take you to the Academy" Archer finally said, getting up and then helping her do so too. Both agents headed for M. O. M.'s desk, pressing one of the buttons that activated the portal-transportation system and sent them to Torrington Academy.

"What do you think, boss?" Annie said after the couple disappeared into the portal.

"I don't know, she seems like a good girl, but it's too soon to tell for sure. She's got him under her thumb, though."

"Come on, you know Archer, he's not that kind of guy."

"We can't say for sure, today he did a lot of things that he hadn't before. Maybe the kid's changing." the man concluded, reflecting a little on the night's events, "Come on, I'm dying for some sleep."

* * *

><p>Diana felt a tingling sensation in her stomach, the proverbial "butterflies in the stomach", but she blamed them on the trip through the portal. Meanwhile, the young man by her side looked around in silent fascination, doing his best to keep a neutral face expression.<p>

"Wow. The outside world is quite... impressing", he said, intrigued by the green areas of the campus and the strange construction that he assumed to be the famous Torrington Academy (after all, the only kind of edification he knew for sure was The Center metallic structure and all of the alien constructions he regularly visited while on duty).

"I told you it would grow on you" the brunette joked, finding his attitude quite amusing and endearing. She was seeing him as a real person, not the combat machine The Center (and life, for that matter) tried to turn him into, and that fact alone made her extremely happy, for a weird reason.

"It's ok, I guess. We don't think much of it because we get to be out here as much as we please. But you... well... I did say I was going to bring you out here more often, didn't I?" they reached the top of the stairs and stopped, acknowledging each other for a moment.

"I'll be looking forward to that" was the only thing he could say, before the conversation turned awkward.

"Well, I better get inside. Thanks for everything." she said with a wide smile.

"Not a problem. Good night."

"Good night"

The girl went through the doorway, leaving John behind. He decided to not stick around and opened a portal back to the facility they had come from, leaving the school grounds back in an eerie quiet. What none of them had realized is that Diana's brother had been watching over them from his concealed position among the bushes., from the moment they appeared from the portal together to Archer's disappearance through the same way. Martin could still make no sense of Diana's liking to the guy, and he found it slightly obnoxious that she was suddenly all to clingy to him. _Maybe it's just a temporary thing, like that Angus guy in Nova Scotia. Yeah, probably only that. Once she overcomes the whole thing she'll be back to normal. _With those final thoughts he decided to stop worrying about the issue at hand and go to sleep, deeply hoping it was what he was thinking it to be.

**So there's that... Wasn't very active lately because of holidays and college, but it's all good now. If you like the story don't forget to review, some feed back is always appreciated.**


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